Located minutes from downtown Boston and connected to the city by nearby light rail, Rivers Edge Park provides 10 acres of attractive parkland and amenities for residents and visitors. After two decades of planning, environmental remediation and construction, a half-mile of waterfront was reborn as a connection for the community with Malden River.

The landscape of the Park at River's Edge along the Malden River waterfront is a story of transformation. Located just seven minutes by light rail from downtown Boston, the site was at the epicenter of the Industrial Revolution in the Northeastern United States in the nineteenth century. Originally a tidal estuary, the marshland ecosystem was obliterated by systematic filling, and the site subsequently endured more than a century of environmental abuse from the chemical and paint factories that manufactured their products and left behind toxic waste. By the 1970s, what remained was a desolate and inaccessible wasteland.

Because of the severity of contamination, the 30-acre site required a profound environmental intervention. Cleanup was extensive. More than 1,200 tons of landfill debris, including buried automobiles, were removed; 14 condemned buildings were deconstructed and recycled; more than 17,000 tires and 7,000 cubic yards of pavement were recycled; and a 270-foot-long sunken garbage barge that had become affixed to the riverbank was removed. The extent of the ecological devastation made it difficult to imagine the vibrant green space the site would become.

A successional approach was used for the planting design, allowing the landscape to evolve from pioneer tree species like alder, serviceberry, river birch and cottonwood while red maples, sugar maples and white pine grow in. Eventually, slower-growing oaks and beeches will dominate the site as the shorter-lived trees recede.
Credit: Benjamin Cheung

The project delivers many sustainable features, including rainwater harvested from the building roofs that is redirected to replenish the wetlands. At the Tufts University Boathouse, about 3,000 square feet of porous pavement was installed for the high traffic lay-down areas to reduce runoff and allow water infiltration, and in the less trafficked areas, stabilized turf was used in lieu of pavement to reduce heat caused by pavements. Acres of non-native invasive plants were replaced with native plantings, and the three acres of newly created and renovated wetlands provide a new habitat that has supported exponential growth in the number of mammals and migratory birds found on site.

Generations of industrial abuse left a landscape filled with waste, toxic soils, abandoned buildings and invasive monoculture plant species. Soils were excavated to depths of eight to 12 feet and tested. The severely contaminated soils were removed, while acceptable remaining soils were sifted, re-graded and capped with three feet of clean protective fill, which in turn was covered with specified planting soil.

Scope & Design Concept
The first phase of construction included the environmental remediation and created more than 10 acres of public parkland. In subsequent phases, more than five additional acres of fully integrated, publicly accessible landscapes have been constructed. The new buildings that have been completed to date include a 115,000 square foot LEED gold-certified office building, a 222-unit residential building with more than an acre of accessible roof terraces and below-grade parking, and the Tufts University Boathouse. Currently, 282 additional residences with internal parking and roof deck terraces are under construction, and a second, 120,000 square foot office building targeting LEED gold certification anticipates a 2015 groundbreaking.

Along the riverfront, the park design embraces the meandering forms of a natural riparian landscape setting, and gently curving paths and rolling landforms are woven together by informal drifts of native plantings. Moving further inland, the design evolves in response to the formal influences of the human context and the encompassing urban grid; landforms were flattened, paths were straightened, lawns become more prevalent and the plantings become more consciously designed and stylized.

More than 17,000 tires were recycled as part of the project, and invasive species were treated and removed to reestablish the native marsh. The view north to boathouse was compromised, among other unsightly elements, by a 100-ton, 40-foot x 270-foot sunken garbage barge that was removed during remediation.
Credit: Greig Cranna

Park Program
The scale of the project and the large number of stakeholders challenged the landscape architect to create flexible spaces that support a broad range of uses. After providing for the project's environmental needs, the most important goal for the landscape was to create a substantial and well-used open space for three of the most densely developed communities in all of greater Boston. With more than a mile of onsite pedestrian and bicycle trails, the park supports a large population of daily visitors who run, stroll and bicycle through the site to enjoy the waterfront setting and clean air. Additional daily and seasonal activities include festivals and art fairs, youth soccer, picnics on the lawn, bird watching and cross-country skiing. As the home of the Tufts University Crew, and a new high school rowing program inspired and supported by the project, the site hosts regular practices and many seasonal regattas.

The landfilled riverbank was pulled back nearly 30 feet to create room for the wetlands during construction. Approximately 2,000 of the park's 10,000 plants were installed over 1.5 acres of restored and newly established wetlands.

Connections
The project was constructed in combination with off-site segments of the Wellington Greenway, which was also funded by the developer. The Greenway is an emerging 2.5-mile bicycle and pedestrian path that provides a recreational connection to the cities of Medford, Malden and beyond, and a major commuter link from the site to Boston via the Wellington bus and train station.

The successful reestablishment of riparian wetlands introduced more than three acres of native species to create a rich, functional landscape that has become a major habitat area for migratory birds. Plantings include annual ryegrass as a nurse plant, New England aster, boneset, swamp rose mallow, soft and Canada rushes, spotted and purple Joe-Pye weed, three-square bulrush, and blunt broom, lurid, cosmos and hairy sedges.
Credit: Greig Cranna

Within the park, two distinct pedestrian circulation systems convey park users through varied spaces and landscape experiences. The high capacity multi-use trail system connects the buildings and recreational elements of the site (boathouse, soccer fields, and major open park spaces), while a secondary system of stabilized aggregate paths traverses smaller scale spaces and provides opportunities for quiet contemplation of the river.

The design team convinced regulators that a "living fence,' made up of plants with thorns and barbs, would be a better fit for the site than the four-foot tall chain link fence that was originally mandated for the top of the bank along the length of the waterfront! Living fence plantings included flower carpet roses, which were paired with buttonbush, summersweet, dwarf red twig dogwood, bush cinquefoil, swamp azalea, pussy willow and arrowwood viburnum on the wetlands and riverbank. Eastern cottonwood, river birch and scarlet oak trees are also visible.

Signature Element
Granite sea walls are a product of the region's geology, and a common building material that has been used for centuries on waterfronts throughout the Northeast. The split faced granite blocks are still found on countless nearby waterfronts, including those just a mile further along the Greenway.

The Park at River's Edge takes the vernacular of this block material and reinterprets it, using it to tie the site to its natural and human context, while refining and employing it to express the site's rejuvenated identity in a contemporary way.

More than a mile of pedestrian and bicycle trails were added to the site. Interpretive panels (left) along the paths explain the site history and the extensive remediation that took place. Tree plantings include pin oak, river birch, "October Glory' red maple and serviceberry. Additional featured plantings are northern bayberry, fragrant sumac, bush cinquefoil, summersweet and flower carpet rose, as part of the living fence.

More than 1,000 linear feet of granite seat walls were placed strategically throughout the site to provide a sculptural focus that frames riverfront views and landscape spaces. The walls reinterpret the familiar historic rectangular blocks, and with their considerable weight and mass, they instill an immediate sense of history and permanence in the recently reclaimed landscape.

At the same time, with their sculptural forms and cut and polished tops, they are a contemporary interpretation of their utilitarian precedents. In a formal manifestation of the site design concept, the shapes of the walls are flowing and radial near the riparian shoreline, while inland they become more linear and orthogonal blocks, placed in sequences coordinated with the architectural forms and building column spacing.

The design employs over 1,000 linear feet of granite seat walls, placed strategically throughout the site to provide a signature landscape identity. The design evolves as it moves from the waterfront and towards the urban grid, as the walls formalize and become more orthogonal in nature. The site's grading also becomes more controlled, favoring panels of lawn and deliberate slopes.

Native Planting
In total, more than 10,000 native shrubs and 150 native trees were planted. The landscape architects choreographed a celebration of New England's woodland colors and textures while also taking a successional approach to the planting design, carefully planning how the landscape would evolve over decades.

Flowing granite walls are woven with plantings into rolling landforms, recalling a meandering riparian landscape. The integration of the walls within the landforms instill a sense of permanence in the reclaimed landscape, among featured flora like three-toothed cinquefoil, river birch trees, and more "living fence' rose and juniper plantings.

All native trees were used; pioneer species such as alder, serviceberry, river birch and cottonwood were selected to quickly foliate the largely denuded landscape. During the next 50 years, red maples, sugar maples and white pine will become more prevalent as the shorter-lived birches and cottonwoods recede. Finally, 80 years from now, the oaks and beeches (the most valuable trees in terms of wildlife food value) will become the dominant species. The Park at River's Edge has become a healthy neighborhood whose vibrancy emanates from its restored landscape. After a century of devastating environmental abuse, this half-mile of urban riverfront has been rejuvenated. Wildlife has returned, vital intermodal links have been made to other towns and to Boston, and much needed open space has improved the quality of life for residents and neighbors. Since opening to the public, the project has been recognized with the New England Environmental Business Council's Brownfield Project of the Year Award, the Boston Society of Landscape Architect's Design Honor Award and other awards as well; perhaps most important, however, is that River's Edge has reconnected the community to what was once a lost waterfront.

The central open space provides a broad, quiet expanse just off the main park path, and hosts frequent games of catch and many family picnics.

Project Team
Boathouse Architect
Peterson Architects
Civil Engineering, Traffic and Permitting, Wetlands Scientists
Tetra Tech Rizzo
Environmental Consultant
Nangle Consulting Associates, Inc.
General Contractor
John Moriarty & Associates
Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants
Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
Landscape Architect/Co- Site Master Planner
Shadley Associates, P.C.
Master Developer
Preotle, Lane & Associates
Office Building Architect/Co-Site Master Planner
Gensler
Residential Architect
CUBE 3 Studio, LLC
Structural Engineer
McNamara/Salvia, Inc.
Sustainable Design Consultant/LEED Certification
The Green Engineer, LLP

At the William Shoemaker Boathouse at Tufts University (background), about 3,000 sq. ft. of porous pavement was installed for the high traffic areas to reduce runoff and allow water infiltration. In the less traveled areas, stabilized turf was used in lieu of pavement to reduce heat reflection. The park holds numerous community events, including "RiverFest" (pictured), an annual September celebration of art and entertainment along the Malden River.